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Who: Asbjørn & Ruby.
What: Moonpool hunting.
Where: Sobek Croix.
When: A week or so after Bad Blood.
Notes: Glow in the dark shenanigans!
Warnings: Partial nudity because swimming in moonpools.

Prior to the bad blood business, Asbjørn had learnt that there was something in the forest surrounding Sobek Croix, in that roundabout 'I heard it from a guy in a pub, who heard it from his sister's hairdresser' sort of way. The locals were wary. A few magic users he'd encountered, who had lived in the city for several years, had nudged each other and shared knowing looks. And thanks to being cooped up in his flat with nothing better to do than lick his wounds and read, a few books on local history and landmarks had hinted at interesting things.

...what's telling is that he took that information and decided a place widely rumoured to be haunted was best explored after dark. At some point during the day, Ruby would have gotten a text that read:

up for a late night forest adventure in sobek croix? i can promise food, good company and supernatural goings on. and only one of the last two things is me.

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"Weird," she echoes, with a rueful ghost of a laugh. The question of friends or something else is one that has crossed her mind repeatedly as this conversation has continued, and she isn't sure what she'll say. Ruby knows what she wants, but this is one instance where she's not sure her instincts are correct.

"When I was little," she says, conversationally, "I used to get visitations. Ghosts. All the time. Mostly they were nice...this older girl, Tiger Smokler, told me about sex. Sometimes they wanted to hurt me, but I could always make them leave. Like they didn't have a choice.

"And then there was the time a huge burning phoenix hopped up on the deck of my house, lit it on fire, and told me it loved me. Weird doesn't scare me, Asbjørn. It's where I come from."

When she rises, it's sort of abrupt, but she wants to be standing when she says this. She doesn't know why. It just feels balancing.

"I'm not kidding when I say I have baggage, too. People have stopped wanting anything to do with me over it before. They thought they could handle it, but...I guess not."

"I believe you." Now it's Asbjørn's turn to gaze up at Ruby intently. And he does believe her. Not just because she's saying so outright, but because of the little gaps and glimmers between words in past conversations. "I don't mean to act like I'm the only one who has issues. I'm just...used to it only being me."

He pushes himself up off the ground slowly, keeping her gaze, standing close but not quite. "And I understand people not being able to deal with it. But like you're saying, we're not other people. So as long as you want me around, I'm here. In whatever way."

Edited 2011-11-04 13:51 (UTC)

"It's not just--the supernatural," she confesses, after a tense pause on her part. Now it's Ruby's turn to avert her eyes. "It's just...I lie, you know? About my family. I can't tell you what it is, not right now, which I know isn't fair because you've been so honest with me, but..."

There's a rueful little exhale.

"I just--I can't. The way I grew up is so fucked up, and I still feel like I have all this damage inside me, and then everything with my ex just made it worse. I don't want to get that on you because you really do make me happy, just being with you. You know what I mean?"

"I do." Not from personal experience, but he remembers things told to him by friends over the years, or the things that didn't need to be said, or women he knew and loved that were messed over or worse at some point in their lives. "And that's okay, there's no rush. You have your reasons, at least you're telling me they're there, and that's enough for me."

"I'm just...happy to find someone I can be honest with." He gives a little half-shouldered shrug, a mild smile. "Don't feel bad about that. That's something I never really set my hopes on in the past ten years."

She's a little cold to the touch when she moves forward to put her hand on his shoulder (something that doesn't necessitate too much of a reach thanks to her height).

"I'm happy about that, too, and..." The pink tint in her cheeks is obviously just the cold. Obviously. "You know that night we went out to the library bar?"

"Yeah, I remember. And my hangover the next day." But he smiles fondly, placing a hand over hers and trying not to internally fuss over how cold it feels.

"You should probably know that I very seriously considered trying to seduce you." This is both true and trolling, judging by the impish little smile of her own. Ruby thinks it's probably about time they lighten the mood a bit, and after the implications of her own history--she thinks it's necessary.

Sometime, she decides, she'll tell him.

But not tonight, not least because she really is freezing.

Asbjørn's face lightens into an almost-laugh, before quickly sobering into faux-seriousness. "Really. And do you think I'd be so easy to seduce?"

He can vaguely remember a discussion about conquering mountains. Vaguely.

She thinks about that question, and meanders closer. A hand on his shoulder turns to both arms around him, and Ruby pressed up against him, with a lazier edge to the curve of her mouth.

"I don't know. Maybe I just think I'm really good at seducing."

Madam. Leave the bear-man alone and put your clothes on.

Well, if arms are being put around, Asbjørn sees no reason not to circle Ruby with his own. Or pull her close. At least it solves the problem of freezing? He does tend to run warmer than most.

"We could have a problem, then," he says, voice still playful, "because I consider enabling one of my finer qualities."

That warmth feels really good, as does the person attached to it, and so Ruby stays right where she is. "In that case, you're going to have to take me back to yours, because under no circumstances am I going to go about it while we are likely to be caught and arrested by Hellsing."

She doesn't actually think Hellsing would care about two twenty-somethings getting naked in their neighborhood, but there remains the possibility of getting caught.

For a moment he does a quick calculation in his head. "It's either a walk and two El-trains, or--" and he looks behind him, "--following the forest to where Salacus Fields and Howl Barrow border."

He's being efficient, not eager. Honest.

"Since I'm currently kind of glow-in-the-dark Ruby, I think we'd better pick the second option." People will stare. She considers retreating to fetch her dress and cardigan, but there's something very important that she has to do first.

That something is delicately reach up and playfully bite the underside of Asbjørn's jaw...though it ends up being closer to his throat, really.

(She just couldn't help but notice the angling was perfect.)

"Let's go."

"Ah-" It's not a noise of protest, although a little surprised. He kisses her in retaliation, teeth briefly nipping at lower lips.

Then, rather impulsively, he decides on something.

"What if we could get there even faster? But it involved me changing."

It's sort of a test and also because he wants Ruby to really see him, all of him, before things go further.

She's never seen him changed, and it's something she's been curious about for a while. So she nods, eyes a little wide. Part of her can't believe this is actually happening, and although the initial anxiety has somewhat faded, her heart is still beating fast.

"I'm game. What would we do?"

"You put clothes on, I take clothes off. We can stuff most of it into the backpack although I'm not sure about the boots. I'm not too broken up about losing a few articles of clothing, I'm used to it by now. Then you carry that and I carry you."

He pulls away a bit, already fiddling with his jeans. "Sound good?"

"Seriously?" Her expression splits with a pleased grin, clearly delighted with the idea. "I'll go get dressed."

She withdraws far enough to retrieve her dress and cardigan, slipping the first on with relative ease. Her socks and boots are nearby, and she makes sure to check inside them for errant spiders before putting them on.

While Ruby tends to that, Asbjørn starts on his own little set of tasks: wringing his jeans out as much as possible, rolling his clothes up tight and squishing them into the backpack along with a jar of moonlight, emptying the thermos because the extra weight isn't necessary. His boots get tied together by the laces and left to the side.

"Okay, that's the bag there. It shouldn't be too heavy." The last thing to be removed and tucked into a side-pocket are his boxers. Then he stands up, turned away slightly, getting his breathing rhythmical, arms swinging.

"Ready?"

Edited 2011-11-05 03:40 (UTC)

She situates the backpack against her side, and nods, once.

"Ready."

Ruby can't help but be really interested in how this is going to look, though she hopes it doesn't hurt him too much.

Asbjørn has been on the edge of human and bear states almost since they got here, so this change will be swift. There's a sound of bones cracking and it's similar to nature documentaries where the growth of trees is sped up for the camera --because that's exactly what's happening. He needs to grow just under four feet in a matter of minutes, which means bones need to disjoint and knit together again rapidly. Half-way through the transformation, he falls foward and lands on paws instead of hands.

At the same time, tattoos begin to disappear between darkened skin and white fur until, at last, everything finishes forming and there's a very large polar bear where a man once was.

He gives off a rumbling, gruff sound, before turning and padding around to where Ruby is.

Edited 2011-11-05 16:55 (UTC)

Ho-ly God.

Hearing about it was no preparation for seeing it. The change itself is enough to make her gasp, wide-eyed, because it looks (and sounds) so brutal. Being confronted with his changed self is another matter entirely, and Ruby clasps her hands over her mouth, looking at Asbjørn with an expression that is...kind of impressed, frankly. There is a little moment of reminding herself that she's confronted with one of the largest, most intimidating beasts out there, but--

It's still him, and she trusts him.

She reaches for him, straightening the bag on her back, and moves to his side.

"That was amazing."

She's assuming he can still understand her--pretty sure, anyway.

Edited 2011-11-05 19:17 (UTC)

A large head is butted gently against her stomach in response. Yes, he still understands. The bear is always present when he's human and the human is always present when he's bear.

Asbjørn circles around Ruby, a protective gesture rather than a predatory one, smelling the smells of the forest, of other animals and humans or humanoids. Satisfied, he nudges her side with his own. Which is the closest equivalent he's got to direct her to hop on.

It's telling that when she does so, it's without much hesitation. It does take her a moment or two to figure out how best to go about it, as this is not exactly like riding a horse, but she manages.

(She just hopes she doesn't fall off, and presumably his strength will forgive how tightly she hangs on.)

At least he starts off slowly, unused to bearing the weight of an extra person. When he's certain Ruby is able to stay on, and he becomes more comfortable with his movements, he starts to pick up the pace. It's not quite a run but it's significantly more than a slow plod.

It won't take them long to reach the end of the forest at this rate.

Ruby thinks this is probably something not even other people in Baedal can say they've done, and in this place, that's rare. When they do reach the end of the forest, she reminds herself that she can let go a little and doesn't need to grip onto him so tightly.

She slides off his back, booted feet landing on the ground.

"Unreal," she mutters, a touch amused at her own delight.